Wiring harnesses are used to enable electric power supply, transmission, etc. in mechanical equipment such as automobiles. For example, a wiring harness has a structure in which connectors are disposed at terminal portions of a conducting wire portion made of copper, which is an electric conductor.
A conducting wire portion of a wiring harness requires not only low electrical resistance but also a strength that can ensure durability. Using copper or a copper alloy as a material for a conducting wire portion provides a conducting wire portion with low electrical resistance. However, to provide the conducting wire portion with sufficient strength, the conducting wire portion made of copper or a copper alloy needs to be somewhat thick. This increases the amount of copper used. To address this, strands for wiring harnesses obtained by twisting together a first element wire made of stainless steel and a second element wire made of copper or a copper alloy have been proposed (see, for example, PTLs 1 and 2). These can provide a strand, which reduces the amount of copper used and achieves both strength and conductivity, for a wiring harness.